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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. tear — to rip
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. present — there
  7. current — electric
  8. rush — hurry
  9. capital — money
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — from crying
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. present — a gift
  15. bat — the animal
  16. current — of water
  17. present — the time now
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. capital — a city
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. current — happening now
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com